Of TARDISes and Time Turners
by bananannabeth
Summary: Time Travel is tricky business. You need training and practice and years of dedication to the craft before being trusted with such a monumental responsibility. When you have none of those things, however, you can always try calling the Doctor, as he seems pretty good at this stuff. So that's exactly what Hogwarts does, and that's how he finds himself babysitting Hermione Granger.
1. The Invitation

**a.n. **While not entirely necessary, I recommend reading Of Ponds and Potters before reading this, as I will be referencing the events of that story throughout this one. If you insist on not reading these stories in order, then I suppose you should at least know that Amy and the Doctor helped defeat Voldemort that one time he tried to team up with some daleks to take down Hogwarts, back when the Marauders were in school. ...It sounds a lot less weird than that when you read the fic, I promise.

* * *

_One - The Invitation_

The last time Amy had seen the Doctor he had been in the swinging seat beneath the console, goggles on and shirt sleeves rolled up as he worked on something or other. He'd tried explaining what he was doing, but through the hand waving and tangents Amy hadn't been able to decipher his actual goal, so she'd let him be and wandered off to find a new book to read. She had thought that he'd be fine by himself for a few hours, but alarm bells started ringing in her head when the TARDIS began swinging violently from side to side and she was practically thrown out of the armchair she'd curled up in.

She made it to the console room at the exact same time as Rory, the two of them coming from opposite sides to corner the Doctor, who was frantically running about the controls and barely paid them any attention.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Amy asked, grabbing a railing for support and digging the heels of her boots into the floor. Rory sidled up beside her, and her spare hand fell into his instinctually.

"Not quite sure, right now," the Doctor mumbled, brows furrowed as he swung off the end of the scanner, which was flashing statistics across the screen too fast for her to catch. "But I'm working on it! Should have an answer for you any moment now, just as soon as I get her stabilised and then -"

As suddenly as it had started, the rocking sensation stopped. The Doctor let go of the scanner and held his hands out to the side, as though testing his balance. His shirt sleeves were still rolled up and his goggles had been pushed up into his hair, so his fringe stuck up at an unnaturally high angle behind the lenses. Amy wanted desperately to laugh, but the concerned look on his face was enough to stop her. She and Rory straightened up, and she waited for the promised explanation. When it didn't come, she tilted her head to the side and prompted, "Well?"

The Doctor blinked at her as though coming out of a trance. "Well?"

"What the hell was that?"

"That was, ah, well, you see -"

"You have no idea, do you," Rory deadpanned.

The Doctor looked a bit sheepish for approximately half a second before launching himself back over to the console and pressing a string of buttons in quick succession with an air of intense purpose. "I have some idea, Rory. In fact I have _more_ than some of an idea, I probably have half an idea - maybe even two thirds of an idea if you stretched it out, actually -"

"And are you going to tell us this two-thirds of an idea you have?" Amy pressed, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the panel beside him.

He pulled the goggles off his head and his hair flopped forward into his eyes. "Something's pulling us. Or, rather, something _was _pulling us. It's stopped now."

Amy looked over to Rory, saw that he was just as lost as she was, and turned back to the Doctor. "You mean something overrode the TARDIS controls?"

"In a sense, I mean that's one way of looking at it..." At Amy's glare the Time Lord's words died. "Yes, that's what I mean. Kind of, not really, though, don't look at me like that, Pond."

"But what would have the power to do that?" Rory asked. "I thought nothing was powerful enough to override the TARDIS?"

"You're right, and that's what interesting... It's kind of like someone sent out an invitation, or offered us a lift, and the TARDIS accepted that offer and now here we are." The Doctor clapped his hands together and smiled in a way that Amy thought he probably intended to be reassuring.

Amy mimicked his smile. "Sounds peachy. And where, exactly, is here?"

He tossed the goggles onto the console and barrelled past them, leaping over the entire set of stairs and landing on the bottom level with a _thump. _He pushed his sleeves down and grabbed his jacket off the coat rack with a flourish. "Scanner's gone all wibbly, so we must be somewhere good!"

"Oh yeah, anywhere that interferes with ultra powerful and normally reliable advanced alien technology must be good," Rory said, trodding down the stairs after him.

Amy nudged him in the side, although if she was being honest she didn't entirely disagree with the sentiment.

The Doctor pouted. "I expected better of you, Rory. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Where's your sense of self preservation?" he countered.

The alien shrugged into his coat. "Lost it long ago. Not sure I ever even had one, to be honest."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

The Doctor winked at her and stepped outside, and of course the Ponds followed.

They'd landed at the edge of a forest. In front of them lay a picturesque expanse of green grass, and behind them trees towered high into the clear, blue sky. Birds were chirping, and in the distance Amy could faintly hear conversations, carried on the gentle breeze.

"This doesn't seem too bad," Rory announced, looking out across the grass. "You've definitely landed us in worse places."

The Doctor craned his neck to peer around the back of the TARDIS, inhaled deeply through his nose, licked his finger and held it out to the air. Apparently unsatisfied, he kept sniffing, walking a full circle around the ship and taking three large strides forwards into the clearing before stopping. "Something feels _off_."

Amy watched him closely as he whipped the sonic screwdriver from his inside pocket and tried to scan the area. It must have malfunctioned, because he began hitting the thing against his palm and swearing under his breath. Something niggled at the back of her mind, a memory triggered not by scent or sound alone but by the unique sensation this place gave her. She struggled to properly grasp the idea, but couldn't stop it from forming. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the Time Lord's elbow. "Doctor, doesn't this place look familiar to you?"

"Familiar how?" he muttered, preoccupied with fiddling with the sonic.

"Familiar like parallel universe, familiar?"

At her words his hands stilled. He slowly raised his head to meet her eye, and she felt her stomach twist at the intensity of his stare.

Rory broke the tense moment by saying, "Oh, no, no, I am done with parallel universes, thank you very much. No more travel outside this universe where we are safe with this TARDIS, that's what we agreed after that last trip -"

"Not that parallel universe, Rory," Amy interrupted.

He blinked, perplexed. "You've been to more than one parallel universe?"

"Once, when you were..." She hesitated for a fraction of a second, and the Doctor jumped right in.

Stowing his sonic, he explained, "When you were wiped from existence, during that time between when the energy from the crack absorbed you and when you came back as a plastic centurion, Amy and I ended up in a parallel universe with an alternate her and an alternate you."

Rory, understably, took a moment to process this. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before any words came out, and then he finally asked, "And you think this is that same universe?"

"I think so, yes." Apparently satisfied with Rory's acceptance of this new information, the Doctor began walking away from the TARDIS. Amy hurried after him, and Rory hurried after her, and the further away from the forest the three of them got the more certain Amy was that they were in the same place.

Rory fell into step beside Amy. "So what happened last time you came to this parallel universe? Are there any particular dangers I should look out for, any rules I should know about meeting an alternate me?"

The smiling faces of Lily Evans and James Potter flashed to Amy's mind. She wondered how she was ever going to be able to explain everything that had happened to Rory. "I don't think there are any dangers. Lily and I didn't seem to have any issues."

"Lily, is that your alternate's name?" Amy nodded, and Rory fell silent, maybe sensing her sombre mood. She resolved to tell him the full details of that adventure when they were back safe in the TARDIS later on.

For now, they walked on in silence just a few steps behind the Doctor, until they crested a hill. Before them stood a great, grey castle, towers and spires piercing the air in a way that took Amy's breath away. Great wooden doors were flung open and a small stream of students wearing black robes passed through, joining their friends milling about on the grounds. Up higher the sun reflected off arched cathedral windows, casting bright rays of light back out into the afternoon. Beside her, Rory gasped.

"You were right, Amy," the Doctor said. "We're back at Hogwarts."


	2. The Time Turner

_Two - The Time Turner_

"It's real?" Rory said, gaping. "Hogwarts, and magic, and - and Harry Potter, it's all _real_?"

Amy nodded, only half paying attention to his wonderment. She was distracted by trying to keep up with the Doctor, who was striding across the grounds towards the doors of the entrance hall. He turned his head back and hissed, "Quiet, Rory! We can't disrupt the timeline by sharing knowledge of the future. Can we, Amy?"

She ignored his pointed stare and mumbled something about falling out of pockets, not her fault. Rory looked perplexed.

Even more confused than Rory were the students they were passing. There were clusters of them spread out around the grounds, enjoying the sunshine, and as the three strangers walked by they turned to stare. Amy guessed that they hadn't seen people in muggle clothes casually strolling across campus before. The Doctor waved at a group who were being particularly blatant with their staring, and they looked stunned. Some immediately turned their heads away, some toppled onto the grass in their haste to get a better look, and some hesitantly waved back.

Rory waved too, until Amy slapped his hand down, feeling uncomfortable about all the attention. "Stop that."

"Just being friendly," he muttered, rubbing the back of his palm.

They came to the entrance hall, a small crowd of students trailing them at a distance, and a stern voice greeted them. "Good to see you've arrived in one piece."

They all turned towards the voice, and a woman dressed in emerald green robes stepped in front of them.

"McGonagall!" The Doctor cried, flinging his arms wide. She leant back slightly, anticipating a hug, but the Doctor merely beamed at her. "Are you the one who invited us? I was a little surprised when the TARDIS landed, I'm awfully curious about how you managed to reach us. I guess there's been some new developments?"

Her lips twitched up in a smile. "There have indeed, Doctor. If you'll follow me, Albus would like to talk to you in his office."

The Doctor glanced at Amy and Rory, who nodded. They started following McGonagall, and were forced to stop abruptly to avoid running into her when she turned around to glare over their heads. They looked back to see a pale, blonde boy with a pointed face behind them.

"Can I help you, Mr Malfoy?"

The boy stepped back. "I was just -"

"Going outside to enjoy the sunshine, yes, that's exactly what you should do." McGonagall continued glaring at him until he disappeared down the steps outside, and then she swept imperiously up the stairs without another word.

Amy shared a look with Rory and the Doctor, and then hurried after her. She brought them to a large gargoyle and muttered something that Amy didn't catch, because as soon as they stopped Rory leant over and whispered in her ear, "How is this real? How can books be _real_?"

Amy whispered back, "I don't know. I guess everything's real in a parallel universe, somewhere. We're probably a telly show in some universe."

They chuckled quietly, and then followed McGonagall up the stairs into Dumbledore's office. Little had changed since the last time Amy had been in the circular room. The trinkets were still there, puffing smoke and twirling, the portraits were still full of moving figures, bustling about in their frames and pointing at them. The Doctor let out a gleeful whoop when he saw Fawkes the Phoenix, who was currently a brilliant red. The bird squawked and fluttered his wings.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at them. "Hello, hello, come in! How was your journey?"

"Not too rough," the Doctor replied, stooping to give Fawkes a pat. "Nifty trick, that."

The Headmaster's eyes shone. "I thought you might like it."

"Are you going to tell me how you did it?" The Doctor straightened and gave Dumbledore a shrewd look. The Professor stayed silent. "Thought that might be the case. Not to worry, I'll figure it out soon enough."

"I see you've brought another traveller," Dumbledore deftly changed topics, turning his smile to Rory.

"Ah, yes, how rude of me! Dumbledore, this is Rory Williams. Rory Williams, Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Rory stepped forward to shake Dumbledore's hand, grinning. "Hello, Professor." Once Dumbledore had turned away, Rory looked at Amy and pointed at his hand, silently shouting. _I just shook hands with Dumbledore! _he mouthed.

She tried not to laugh as Dumbledore shook her hand. "Pleasure to see you again, Miss Pond."

"You too, Professor."

Pleasantries exchanged, Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and gestured for the others to do the same. Amy was only mildly surprised to see that while there had been empty carpet behind her a moment ago, there was now an elegant chair. She sat, and Rory and the Doctor did the same, though the Doctor's foot tapped anxiously against the leg of his chair.

"So, down to business then?" he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "I have a favour to ask of you. Are you familiar with time turners?"

The Doctor's back straightened and his eyes narrowed. "They're a bit of a relic, but I've seen them before. Studied them, back on Gallifrey."

"One of our students, a particularly bright young girl by the name of Hermione Granger, is looking to take an amount of classes this year that would be impossible without the use of time travel."

"She wants to take so many classes that her timetable overlaps, and you're going to let her use time travel to do so?"

Dumbledore's gaze remained steady behind his half moon spectacles. "If it were any other student, Doctor, I assure you we would not allow it. As it is, Miss Granger is remarkable - the brightest witch of her age. I believe that while it will be challenging, she is equipped to handle the pressures. In fact, she may be better for it."

"Time travel is dangerous," the Doctor said. "You need training and practice and... and _years_ of dedication to the craft before being trusted with such a monumental responsibility!"

"We are unfortunately pressed for time," Dumbledore said softly.

Rory laughed softly at the pun, but when McGonagall shot him a look he immediately quietened.

"Perhaps you should meet the girl for yourself," Dumbledore offered. The Doctor nodded, his expression and posture petulant. "Professor McGonagall, could you please fetch Miss Granger for us?"

McGonagall disappeared. In her absence Dumbledore offered the visitors some sherbet lemons. They were eating the treats when McGonagall returned with a student in tow. The girl had a wild mane of bushy hair and slightly bucked teeth, and she looked apprehensively at each of the strangers in turn.

"Miss Granger, I'd like you to meet our guests - This is Rory Williams, Amy Pond and the Doctor."

"Doctor of what?" she asked, more confidently than Amy had been expecting.

"Oh, a few things," the Time Lord said, swinging out of his seat and over to her. He clasped one of her hands in both of his and shook it, smiling kindly. "So, brightest witch of your age - what an honour."

Hermione blushed a little at that, looking down at her feet. "Oh, I -"

"No need for modesty," the Doctor said. "You're going to need confidence if we're going to go through with this."

"You're going to go through with it?" Amy asked.

"They need our help, Amy," the Doctor said.

She wanted to argue, wanted to protest that this wasn't how it happened, that she was pretty damn sure there hadn't been any mention of Hermione having help from a Time Lord in the books - but, then again, though the writing on Lily and James's time at Hogwarts was brief, she was pretty certain there hadn't been any daleks included in their story. Maybe the Doctor was right, maybe they had to stay. Maybe this wasn't breaking the timeline, maybe this was causing it.

"Do you know a lot about time turners?" Hermione asked.

"They're not my favourite mode of time travel, but they'll do in a pinch," the Doctor replied.

McGonagall's lips pressed into a thin white line as Hermione gasped. "There are other modes of time travel?"

The Time Lord realised his mistake and scratched his cheek nervously. "Well, uh, yes, a few, but - ah, none that we have access too and the time turner really is a fine little contraption, quite remarkable and more than suitable enough for just getting you from one class to the next."

"And the next," Rory added.

The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Yes. Right. So, where is it?"

Dumbledore produced a small hourglass on a necklace from his desk drawer.

The Doctor's eyes lit up when he saw it, the gold glinting as it span in a slow circle. He crowed, "Beautiful! May I?" He took the device from Dumbledore with reverence. "Oh, it's even engraved._ 'I mark the hours, every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use and value, unto you, Are gauged by what you have to do.'_"

Hermione's jaw had dropped. She looked slightly apprehensive, but also determined. When the Doctor passed the time turner onto her she held it in her hands and stared at it, seemingly forgetting everyone else in the room.

"As we discussed, Miss Granger, this must remain absolutely secret. You cannot tell anyone at all about this. The Ministry was hesitant about granting you this permission, and we mustn't do anything to arouse suspicion," McGonagall said.

Hermione nodded.

"Ah, yes, I'm afraid there's a bit of paperwork for you, too, Doctor." Dumbledore again reached into his drawer, this time pulling out a rolled up sheet of parchment. He passed it to the Doctor and it unfurled, the end rolling down, down, down and curling over his boots and onto the carpet. "The laws surrounding time turner use."

The Doctor grimaced. "Rules. Of course."

"Once you've read and signed that, you can get on with helping Miss Granger learn how to manage the responsibilities of being a time traveller."

"We shall be holding on to the time turner until then," McGonagall explained, taking the device back from Hermione and dismissing her.

She gave Amy a searching look just before she exited.

"And I believe that is quite enough to be getting on with," Dumbledore said. "Beds have been arranged for you, as I'm presuming that the TARDIS is not parked in quite so easy a location to access this time around."

Amy's chair disappeared as soon as she stood.

The Doctor glanced up from the contract and said, "It's out by the forest, so beds here might be more convenient, sometimes. I don't like to leave her alone for too long, of course."

Dumbledore appeared understanding. "Of course. You're more than welcome to stay wherever you choose. I must ask though, that Miss Pond and Mr Williams try not to attract too much attention. I'm afraid that their resemblance to Harry's parents might be a cause for concern. We'll have to consider how to introduce him to this concept before introducing him to you, personally."

"Yeah, sure, of course," Amy agreed. Rory's mouth had dropped open again. Oh, she really had a lot to explain.

"Professor McGonagall shall lead you to your quarters, and I will see you in the morning to discuss things further."

And that was that - they were going to be teaching a thirteen year old how to time travel at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At least things couldn't get as weird as the last time they were here... Amy hoped not, anyway.

* * *

**a.n. **sorry.


End file.
